🥵 Good morning and have a nice Monday. This week will be balmy.
Weather in Pennsylvania
☀️Wexford | Mostly radiant, 92
☀️ Harbor Lockdown | Sunny, 92
☀️Wayne | Mostly radiant, 88
Sports PA
⚾ Phillies (47-24) | Baltimore 3-8 | Monday-Wednesday vs. San Diego
⚾ Pirates (34-37) | Colorado 8-2 | Monday-Wednesday vs. Cincinnati
🏒 Hershey (1-1) | Coachella Valley 5-2 | Tuesday at Coachella Valley
⚽ Union (4-8-5) | Inter Miami 1-2 | Wednesday vs. Cincinnati
👂 What we hear. Second gentleman Douglas Emhoff AND Governor Josh Shapiro will be in Pittsburgh on Sunday for a groundbreaking ceremony for the recent Tree of Life Synagogue, six years after the shooting.
🗞️ Pennsylvania. The ultimate swing state. Where you can find all the latest information on what’s happening in Keystone State politics? Sign up for the PoliticsPA Guide. We’ll deliver all the latest headlines in an easy-to-read format every weekday at 8am. And it’s free. Add your name to the list and sign up now.
The best story
1. ‘They see power’: Black sports icons shaping Donald Trump’s approach to race, politics and masculinity
“The way to understanding Donald Trump appeal to parts of Black America – and his hopes of regaining the presidency by taking away a few precious votes from Democrats – runs through Trump’s Black Friends, a loose group of iconic 1980s sports figures.
These men, now aged 57 to 92, would unlikely be spokespersons for almost any other candidate and are mostly unknown for their policies. But they have a lot in common with Trump.” (Traffic lights)
Related
Key findings from a recent survey of black voters in Pennsylvania. “The president suffered significant losses among Black voters who supported him in 2020. Seventy-six percent of respondents in every state said they voted for Biden four years ago. Now his approval has dropped by 20 percentage points in Pennsylvania (to 56%) and 22 points in Michigan (to 54%). (USA today)
Mike Johnson’s intelligence committee decisions are angering some GOP lawmakers. “One of the calls Johnson took was from former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who found it necessary to understand the new speaker’s reasons for appointing Republican Scott Perry to the critical panel.” (Washington Post Office)
Trump will return to Philadelphia for a rally on the Temple campus. “Former President Donald Trump will return to the Keystone State for the first time in two months at a rally in Philadelphia on June 22 on the campus of Temple University.” (Penn Capital Star)
Country
2. Partisan Prevents Amendments to Pennsylvania’s Voting Laws as the Presidential Election Approaches
“Many efforts are underway in Pennsylvania to address loopholes in mail-in voting laws. The problem is that it is decided in the courtroom, not in the legislature.
This could turn the president’s most populous state into a hotbed for challenges and conspiracy theories if, as expected, the November election is close.” (AP)
Related
Court upholds AP law, taking jurisdiction over mass transit crimes from Philadelphia District Attorney. “An elected prosecutor in Philadelphia lost a court decision Friday in his lawsuit seeking to stop a bill requiring the attorney general’s office to appoint a special prosecutor to deal with crimes in the city’s mass transit system.” (PennLive)
What does the Supreme Court’s ruling on growth stocks mean for PA? “The ruling, which now legalizes the sale of the devices in Pennsylvania as well as in at least 32 other states, prompted an immediate five-word response from Adam Garber, CeaseFirePa’s executive director: “The Supreme Court has endangered the lives of Pennsylvanians. ”” (PennLive)
Drug testing, Philly Parks and other opioid money decisions await final approval in Pennsylvania. “District officials across Pennsylvania are waiting for the state Board of Supervisors to approve a decision to spend tens of millions of dollars in opioid settlement funds.” (PA reflector)
Do Democrats have a problem with Erin McClelland? “After her unexpected victory. the longtime candidate must answer for strange choices and legal lapses in her campaign.” (Wide + Freedom)
Around the Republic of Poland
3. Why did these Philadelphia parents decide to send their child to private school?
“Legislators in Harrisburg seem to have their opinions on what parents and students in Philadelphia want.
The education debate has intensified this year as lawmakers once again bicker over a potential school voucher program to send students to private schools with taxpayer money and attempt to develop a new school financing system.
As the fight over a new voucher system intensifies among school choice advocates, public education advocates, teachers unions and even Jay Z putting money into this fight, the state already has a school choice program in place.” (Questioner from Philadelphia)
Related
PA Fair Financing Champion. “Whether it’s asbestos in classrooms, teacher shortages, or high dropout rates, the headlines have not been kind to Philadelphia public schools since the pandemic. But then again, they weren’t nice before either, especially when news reached us of policymakers’ repeated failures to find solutions to improve the education system.” (Citizen of Philadelphia)
Senator Laughlin and an Erie reader are suing each other. What they claim. “Giving testimony in her husband’s defamation lawsuit, Peggy Laughlin claims that she and a state senator drove around the area and collected a total of ‘hundreds’ of copies of the Erie Reader, including a column critical of him.” (Erie Times-News)
Sunday shows
Editorial
4. What do you mean
- I am an online gambler. Pennsylvania lawmakers are right to ban the employ of credit cards to finance betting. (Gary Rotstein)
- How a national network of SEIU-linked companies is bleeding Pittsburgh droughty. (Brandon McGinley)
- A recent poll shows that many GOP voters are misinformed and willfully blind to the truth. (Marek S. Singel)
- Remember when voting by mail was uncontroversial? (Scranton Times Tribune)
- America’s return to the murky ages. (Robert Wyatt)
- Note to Biden on inflation: It’s a Big Mac, stupid. (Las Vegas Review Journal)
- Dave McCormick and the elephant in the room. (Chris Kelly)
1 item
5. Record a heatwave
A heat dome growing in the Midwest is expected to unleash extreme temperatures from Iowa to Virginia and Maine this week.
It could peak in New England with record intensity on Wednesday and Thursday.
Why is it essential?: Extreme heat is the biggest weather-related killer in the US. Human-caused climate change is making heatwaves more likely, longer lasting and more intense.
⚠️ Even in northern Maine, which is usually just starting to toasty up this time of year, temperatures will likely climb into the upper 90s this week. (Axles)
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